Blonds, brunettes and redheads you ask. Well just as they cause a lot of different thought so do wood choices. Here are mine.
If I have a straight stock, thin grip gun, I want English for strength. Bastone will do but it is easier to find English. Great smokey grain with honey and black swirling contrasts. Hard to beat in my book.
If I have a auto or through bolt gun I go for crotch Black Walnut. Strength is not as big a issue with a bolt so I want he extra crotch figure. Good crotch blanks can do well on doubles if the wrist area is straight and dense.
If I can get a nice fiddle or burl Claro I will use them if the grain is decent in the wrist. Mostly on modern guns where the color and wider grain patterns on most Claro do not bug me.
You missed Myrtle and Maple. These should be on modern guns like the autos or O/U's that are used in Trap and Skeet. Shell flame maple, bird's eye maple and fancy Myrtle wood just do not belong on classic guns, be they rifle or shotguns. Fine for a KY rifle but not a double. Just my two cents.
